Playing Patients

In New York, a swath of hospitals on Manhattan's Upper East Side has forged an alliance with the city's deep pool of professional actors—many of whom are happy to land a day job playing a patient. (More: Actors Get Dramatic Roles at Hospitals.)

August 16, 2011

fullscreen

Actors Darnell Collins, Jessica Verdi, Kevaughn Harvey and Tom Pennacchini sat in a holding room at Weill Cornell Medical College recently as they readied for roles as 'standardized patients,' in which they portray patients suffering from a variety of ailments and are examined by medical students.
Philip Montgomery for The Wall Street Journal…

Actor Tom Pennacchini changed into a hospital gown as he prepared for his role as a working-class laborer suffering from abdominal pain. Weill Cornell Medical College, the Manhattan school connected to Cornell University and New York Presbyterian Hospital, pays actors $25 an hour for an eight-hour day.
Philip Montgomery for The Wall Street Journal…

Anne Connolly, who coordinates the standardized patient program at Weill Cornell's Margaret and Ian Smith Clinical Skills Center, applied makeup to the leg of actor Kevin Orr to heighten the realism and make it look red and swollen. Mr. Orr played a patient with gout during a recent session.
Philip Montgomery for The Wall Street Journal…

Senior technician Chris Blackburn monitors the medical students as they interact with the paid actors behind closed doors in a series of examining rooms set up to look like real hospital examining chambers. Each room has hidden cameras and two-way mirrors so faculty and staff can carefully observe.
Philip Montgomery for The Wall Street Journal…

On a recent August morning at Weill Cornell's multi-million dollar clinical skills center, medical students entered mock hospital rooms to attend to the needs of their 'patients.' The encounters are taped, and students review their performance later and get feedback.
Philip Montgomery for The Wall Street Journal…

Mr. Orr, playing the gout patient, waited in a mock hospital room. He limped and described for a student the 'excruciating deep pain' he felt. 'I can barely walk,' he moaned. 'I've never had pain like this.' Interactions with make-believe patients have become a critical part of medical education.
Philip Montgomery for The Wall Street Journal…

Medical student Ugo Ihekweazu, left, checked Mr. Orr's heartbeat. The medical students must relate to the actors as they would a real sick person. They are assessed for both their diagnostic skills and their ability to convey understanding and empathy
Philip Montgomery for The Wall Street Journal…

Computer screens displayed a grid of videos, allowing staff to observe what is going on in the various rooms where medical students interacted with actor-patients.
Philip Montgomery for The Wall Street Journal…

Dr. Yoon Kang, left, the director of the clinical skills center, makes it a point to carefully observe the medical students. Here she and staffer Anne Connolly—also an actress by training—watched through a mirror as actress Sandra Parris played a high-powered professional with a drug problem.
Philip Montgomery for The Wall Street Journal…

Dr. Kang, right, shared a laugh with Ms. Parris after the training session.
Philip Montgomery for The Wall Street Journal…